Rongen Announces 18-Player Roster for 2006 Milk Cup

NewsJul 24, 2006

CHICAGO (July 24, 2006) – U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Thomas Rongen has released the 18-player roster he will take to Northern Ireland to compete in the 2006 Milk Cup.

The U.S. will leave for the tournament on Thursday, July 27 and have a few days of training before facing Wales on Monday, July 31. The U.S. will then go up against Denmark on Wednesday, Aug. 2, and finish the tournament with a placement match on Friday, Aug. 4. The other group consists of Northern Ireland, Paraguay and Turkey.

Rongen included seven professional players on his roster, five of which ply their trade in Major League Soccer. Josmer Altidore (N.Y. Red Bulls), Carlos Borja (Chivas USA), Rodrigo Lopez (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas) and Blake Wagner (FC Dallas) are the MLS players represented on the roster. Real Salt Lake defender/midfielder Nikolas Besagno was also on the initial roster, but due to injuries this past weekend his services were required by his club. Besagno was replaced by high schooler Chance Myers.

The other two professionals come from the English and German first divisions as Johann Smith (Bolton FC) and Preston Zimmerman (Hamburg SV) and will join the team in Northern Ireland. Smith, who hails from Bloomfield, Conn., has been at Bolton since April of 2005 after receiving a three-year contract in the team’s academy program.

The rest of the squad consists of college players, with the University of Maryland, Indiana University and UCLA each supplying two players.